Publications by authors named "Lifeng Peng"

This research utilizes a deep learning-based image generation algorithm to generate pseudo-sagittal STIR sequences from sagittal T1WI and T2WI MR images. The evaluations include both subjective assessments by two physicians and objective analyses, measuring image quality through SNR and CNR in ROIs of five different tissues. Further analyses, including MAE, PSNR, SSIM, and COR, establish a strong correlation between the generated STIR sequences and the gold standard, with Bland-Altman analysis indicating pixel consistency.

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Cellular mechanisms responsible for the regulation of nutrient exchange, immune responses, and symbiont population growth in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis are poorly resolved, particularly with respect to the dinoflagellate symbiont. Here, we characterized proteomic changes in the native symbiont Breviolum minutum during colonization of its host sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana ("Aiptasia"). We also compared the proteome of this native symbiont in the established symbiotic state with that of a non-native symbiont, Durusdinium trenchii.

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The adaptability of glioblastoma (GBM) cells, encouraged by complex interactions with the tumour microenvironment (TME), currently renders GBM an incurable cancer. Despite intensive research, with many clinical trials, GBM patients rely on standard treatments including surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy, which have been observed to induce a more aggressive phenotype in recurrent tumours. This failure to improve treatments is undoubtedly a result of insufficient models which fail to incorporate components of the human brain TME.

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With the widespread use of antibiotics and increasing environmental concerns regarding antibiotic abuse, the detection and degradation of antibiotic residues in various samples has become a pressing issue. Transcriptional factor (TF)-based whole-cell biosensors are low-cost, easy-to-use, and flexible tools for detecting chemicals and controlling bioprocesses. However, because of cytotoxicity caused by antibiotics, the application of such biosensors is limited in the presence of antibiotics.

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Glioblastoma is a rapidly fatal brain cancer that does not respond to therapy. Previous research showed that the transcriptional repressor protein BCL6 is upregulated by chemo and radiotherapy in glioblastoma, and inhibition of BCL6 enhances the effectiveness of these therapies. Therefore, BCL6 is a promising target to improve the efficacy of current glioblastoma treatment.

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High rates of failure, exorbitant costs, and the sluggish pace of new drug discovery and development have led to a growing interest in repurposing "old" drugs to treat both common and rare diseases, particularly cancer. Cancer, a complex and heterogeneous disease, often necessitates a combination of different treatment modalities to achieve optimal outcomes. The intrinsic polygenicity of cancer, intricate biological signalling networks, and feedback loops make the inhibition of a single target frequently insufficient for achieving the desired therapeutic impact.

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The cellular mechanisms responsible for the regulation of nutrient exchange, immune response, and symbiont population growth in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis are poorly resolved. Here, we employed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to elucidate proteomic changes associated with symbiosis in , a native symbiont of the sea anemone ('Aiptasia'). We manipulated nutrients available to the algae in culture and to the holobiont (i.

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Glioblastoma, a grade IV astrocytoma, is regarded as the most aggressive primary brain tumour with an overall median survival of 16.0 months following the standard treatment regimen of surgical resection, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide. Despite such intensive treatment, the tumour almost invariably recurs.

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Coral bleaching is primarily caused by high sea surface temperatures, and nutrient enrichment of reefs is associated with lower resilience to thermal stress and ecological degradation. Excess inorganic nitrogen relative to phosphate has been proposed to sensitize corals to thermal bleaching. We assessed the physiological and proteomic responses of cultures of the dinoflagellate coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum to elevated temperature under low-nutrient, high-nutrient and phosphate-limited conditions.

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Background: Colon cancer is the third most common cancer and second highest cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The aim of the study was to find new biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic drug targets for this disease.

Methods: Four low-grade and four high-grade human colon adenocarcinoma tumours with patient-matched normal colon tissues were analysed.

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Endozoicomonas are prevalent, abundant bacterial associates of marine animals, including corals. Their role in holobiont health and functioning, however, remains poorly understood. To identify potential interactions within the coral holobiont, we characterized the novel isolate Endozoicomonas marisrubri sp.

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Article Synopsis
  • Excessive fructose intake during pregnancy may impact offspring health, as shown in guinea pigs fed a fructose-rich diet before and during gestation.
  • The offspring of mothers consuming high-fructose diets exhibited increased levels of triglycerides and certain fatty acids at weaning and young adulthood.
  • Analyses indicated that these offspring had altered mitochondrial metabolism and protein expressions related to energy production, suggesting potential metabolic issues as they age.
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Tropical lagoon-inhabiting organisms live in highly irradiated ecosystems and are particularly susceptible to thermal stress resulting from climate change. However, despite living close to their thermal maxima, stress response mechanisms found in these organisms are poorly understood. We used a novel physiological-proteomic approach for sponges to describe the stress response mechanisms of the lagoon-inhabiting sponge Amphimedon navalis, when exposed to elevated seawater temperatures of +2°C and +4°C relative to a 26°C ambient temperature for 4 weeks.

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The cancer stem cell (CSC) concept proposes that cancer recurrence and metastasis are driven by CSCs. In this study, we investigated whether cells from colon adenocarcinoma (CA) with a CSC-like phenotype express renin-angiotensin system (RAS) components, and the effect of RAS inhibitors on CA-derived primary cell lines. Expression of RAS components was interrogated using immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining in 6 low-grade CA (LGCA) and 6 high-grade CA (HGCA) tissue samples and patient-matched normal colon samples.

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Aims: Much work has been done to find markers of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that distinguish them from the tumor bulk cells and normal cells. Recent CSC research has applied the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) concept. In this study, we investigated the expression of a panel of iPSC markers in primary colon adenocarcinoma (CA)-derived cell lines.

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Aims: The cancer stem cell concept proposes that tumor growth and recurrence is driven by a small population of cancer stem cells (CSCs). In this study we investigated the expression of induced-pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) markers and their localization in primary low-grade adenocarcinoma (LGCA) and high-grade adenocarcinoma (HGCA) and their patient-matched normal colon samples.

Materials And Methods: Transcription and translation of iPSC markers OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, KLF4 and c-MYC were investigated using immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, RT-qPCR and in-situ hybridization (ISH).

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The acquisition of thermally tolerant algal symbionts by corals has been proposed as a natural or assisted mechanism of increasing coral reef resilience to anthropogenic climate change, but the cell-level processes determining the performance of new symbiotic associations are poorly understood. We used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to investigate the effects of an experimentally induced symbiosis on the host proteome of the model sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida. Aposymbiotic specimens were colonised by either the homologous dinoflagellate symbiont (Breviolum minutum) or a thermally tolerant, ecologically invasive heterologous symbiont (Durusdinium trenchii).

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One of the major challenges in proteomics is peptide identification from mass spectra containing high noise ratio and small number of signal (b-/y-ions) peaks. However, the accuracy and reliability of peptide identification in such highly imbalanced MS/MS data can be improved by applying a preprocessing step prior to peptide identification aiming at discriminating b-/y-ions from noise peaks in the spectra. In this study, we report a genetic programming (GP)-based preprocessing method for de-noising highly imbalanced and noisy CID MS/MS spectra.

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Biomarkers are urgently required to support current histological staging to provide additional accuracy in stratifying colorectal cancer (CRC) patients according to risk of spread to properly assign adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. Chemotherapy is given to patients with stage III to reduce the risk of recurrence but is controversial in stage II patients. Up to 25% of stage II patients will relapse within 5 years after tumor removal and when this occurs cure is seldom possible.

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The esterification of a fatty acyl moiety to diacylglycerol to form triacylglycerol (TAG) is catalysed by two diacylglycerol O-acyltransferases (DGATs) encoded by genes belonging to two distinct gene families. The enzymes are referred to as DGAT1 and DGAT2 in order of their identification. Both proteins are transmembrane proteins localized in the endoplasmic reticulum.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in women and the third most common in men. Adenocarcinoma accounts for 90% of CRC cases. There has been accumulating evidence in support of the cancer stem cell (CSC) concept of cancer which proposes that CSCs are central in the initiation of cancer.

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Coral bleaching has devastating effects on coral survival and reef ecosystem function, but many of the fundamental cellular effects of thermal stress on cnidarian physiology are unclear. We used label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to compare the effects of rapidly (33.5 °C, 24 h) and gradually (30 and 33.

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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive tumor that typically exhibits treatment failure with high mortality rates, is associated with the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) within the tumor. CSCs possess the ability for perpetual self-renewal and proliferation, producing downstream progenitor cells that drive tumor growth. Studies of many cancer types have identified CSCs using specific markers, but it is still unclear as to where in the stem cell hierarchy these markers fall.

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Coral reef ecosystems are metabolically founded on the mutualism between corals and photosynthetic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium. The glass anemone Aiptasia sp. has become a tractable model for this symbiosis, and recent advances in genetic information have enabled the use of mass spectrometry-based proteomics in this model.

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The growth and productivity of ruminants depends on a complex microbial community found in their fore-stomach (rumen), which is able to breakdown plant polysaccharides and ferment the released sugars. Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus B316T is a Gram-positive polysaccharide-degrading, butyrate-producing bacterium that is present at high numbers in the rumen of animals consuming pasture or grass silage based diets. B316T is one of a small number of rumen fibrolytic microbes capable of efficiently degrading and utilizing xylan, as well as being capable of utilizing arabinose, xylose, pectin and starch.

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